What comes to mind when you hear the word “BEST”? What does best mean for you?
Perhaps this word paints a picture of someone dedicated and committed. Someone who is always on the go with a never-say-die attitude and a rest-what-rest mentality.
Maybe you see this person as being overly optimistic and so gung-ho in anything and everything that they do. You wonder if this person is ever real because they seem to never run out of energy and feel-good feelings.
Gosh! Just writing about this imagined “best” person makes me tired and a bit overwhelmed already.
Best is such a loaded and, quite frankly, heavy word. It feels like there’s no room for error, huh? (Or maybe that’s just me?)
What does “BEST” mean anyway?
Here are some relevant definitions that I found at merriam-webster.com:
Best, as an adjective, means “excelling all others.”
Best, as a noun, means “the greatest degree of good or excellence” or “one’s maximum effort.”
But here’s how I see it…
I believe that “BEST” is dynamic and fluid.
There are days when my best allows me to stand in front of 100 people as an energetic trainer. There are days when my best allows me to create and write non-stop for days on end. Awesome, right?
However, there are also days when my best only allows me to wake up and hide in my room, only going out for meals and bathroom breaks. And this is okay too.
This may be counter-productive, but I believe that if we give ourselves the space to be okay with holding these two opposing pictures of “BEST” in our minds, we are honoring the space that we are in at the moment.
And when we honor the space we are in, we are giving ourselves the love, acceptance, and support that we need (and often seek in others).
And when we are giving ourselves the love, acceptance, and support that we need, we are then able to show up as our most authentic, empowered, best selves.
Now, It’s Your Turn!
What does “BEST” mean for you? How are you defining best for yourself?
Please feel free to share in the comment.
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